A Compilation of Donald Trump Lies, Misleading Statements, and Exagerations

Liar-In-Chief

DONALD TRUMP IS PROVING TO BE THE BIGGEST LIAR IN AMERICAN Politics as he seeks the Presidency of the United States. That is NOT a hyperbolic statement, it is the absolute truth. This in not to say other politicians don't lie, they certainly do, but none in the last 60 years of my memory, has been such a prolific liar to this astonishing degree!

His ability to make things up, twist things around, boast, and exaggerate is unparalleled. This, of course, will be challenged by Hillary-haters who argue that every word out of her mouth is a lie. The difference is, I can (and will) provide a multitude of examples of Trump's prevarications while the other side can only produce a few, debatable statements as evidence. The various fact-checking organizations also support my assertion by noting that about 70% of what Trump proclaims is False; Mostly False; or True, but Misleading. On the other hand, Clinton scores about 20% of her statements fall into these categories with most being True, but Misleading.

I want to point out, before the other side does, that Hillary Clinton's most recent "lie" is the declaration that "more than half of Trump supporters fall into the basket of deplorables". LIAR they cry. But surprisingly, she was telling the Truth, according to available evidence. It is true that more than half of Trump supporters exhibit bigotry, xenophobia, Islamaphobia, and a host of other very negative traits.

So now, to prove my point, I will let Trump speak for himself (keep in mind that right now, I am only presenting his Pants-On-Fire Lies.)

The Wanna-Be Demonstrable Liar-in-Chief

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The Lies

10/4/16 - VP Debate: The CNN snap poll, and I can believe it, has Pence slightly ahead on style ... he was unflappable. If you count lies and misleading statements, it was a run-a-way contest for Pence, he lied far more often than Kaine did; he had to given who Pence had to defend.

Pence's most egregious lie was denying that he said Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is a much better leader than President Obama. Kaine said Pence said "inarguably Vladimir Putin is a "better" leader than President Obama" and Gov Pence flat out denied it. What Pence actually said in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash is " inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a "stronger" leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country." While the words "stronger" and "better" are not identical, the implications of each are identical unless semantically dissected. Bottom line, Pence lied big time

Kaine, during a discussion about Trump's plans for Social Security claimed Pence was “the chief cheerleader for privatization” of Social Security. In fact Pence proposed voluntary private accounts, not a private-sector takeover. True, but Misleading

Kaine claimed that Trump’s plan would “raise taxes on the middle class.” That may have been true for earlier versions of Trump's tax plan, but the current version as reductions of some type going to all income groups. Granted that may be only 1.5% for 80% of tax payers, The rich get upwards of 16% increase in income. Consequently, Kaine's statement is False.

When talking about NATO, Kaine claimed that Trump said “we need to get rid of NATO.”; he didn't. But Trump did say NATO is obsolete or may be, which can be contrued as wanting to get rid of it. So this bit of fluff is Mostly False.

Even though Donald Trump often said at the beginning of his campaign that he would create a "Deportation Force", as Kaine claimed, Pence nevertheless made a bold-faced lie that he "never" did. (Trump has since walked the deportation force back)

Pence said the Clinton Foundation gave less than 10 percent to “charitable organizations.” On the face of it, that might seem true, but it isn't. In fact, the Clinton Foundation spends, by one estimate, about 87 percent "on charitable work". The trick Pence and Trump are playing on you is by NOT telling you the Clinton Foundation is a charity in and of itself. So, Pence lied.

On the other hand, Pence said that the Trump Foundation is a charitable organization and gives a lot to charity. In fact, the legal status of the Trump Foundation as federal or state charity is under question and review and further, it gives very little to other charities or on charitable causes. It did, potentially, bribe Pat Bondi, the Florida Attorney General, to drop her investigation on Trump University ... she did. Pence therefore lied here as well.

Pence claimed Kaine was wrong when he said Comey of the FBI said "no reasonable prosecutor would bring Clinton up on charges". Comey, in fact, did say that.

9/26/16 - the 1st Presidential Debate: I will include Clinton's misstatements and lies in this update (courtesy of FactCheck.Org).

Trump knowingly and wrongly claims that because Mexico imposes a 16.7% value-added tax on U.S. companies selling in Mexico and America does not reciprocate for Mexican companies, that this is an unfair tariff on American exports. It would be if Mexico didn't imporse the same tax on its OWN companies; Trump knows, or should know, that Mexico does tax its own companies thereby keeping the playing field level. Bottom-line, Trump is, IMO, pants-on-fire lying. (from CNN, not Factcheck.Org)

Clinton said that the only tax returns people of seen from Trump showed he paid no income tax. This is a lie (to stay in the same format I use for Trump). In fact, records show he paid income tax in three of five returns that are public from the 1970s

Trump was correct in saying that Ford is moving their [less profitable] small car production to Mexico. He lied by omission by NOT reporting that Ford is replacing that with a more profitable division with higher paying jobs; Ford said not one job will be lost.

Trump falsely implied that President Obama never disclosed how much of Iran's money was to be given back to them. Of course, the truth is, Obama did; I personally heard and read the amount.

Clinton claimed Trump said that "climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.". Trump lied by denying he ever said that. Well guess that would be the truth, but he did Tweet it in 2012.

Clinton said Trump’s businesses had filed for bankruptcy six times; he [proudly?] said it was four. Clinton is right. Further, Trump has said those were good, strategic business decisions.

Clinton lied when she said "she had 'hoped' the Trans-Pacific Partnership would be a 'good deal'.,” She actually said the TPP “sets the gold standard.” Not a pants-on-fire lie, but a lie nevertheless.

9/20/16: At a rally in Kenansville, NC Trump laid this beauty on the rally -

Needless to say, this pants-on-fire lie from Trump, trumps them all. "Ever" is a very, very long time and extends back to when blacks were stung up by there neck until dead ... let's see that was on March 21, 1981 when Michael Donald was lynched by two Klu Klux Klan members Henry Hays and James Knowles. Yes, Donald, things are certainly worse now. Or how about from the time America was founded until 1864, there wasn't slavery, there weren't beatings, there weren't sales of black people breaking families apart, there weren't rapes of black women on a wholesale basis; no Donald, there was none of that because blacks are in worse shape today. How can Trump supporters stomach such Goebbels-esque propaganda.

9/16/16: Trump, in a speech about the "birther movement" declared that Hillary Clinton and her 2008 campaign started challenging Obama's citizenship. This has been debunked time and time again, including today. Since Trump knows the claim is not true, yet he makes it anyway, it becomes one of his latest lies.

It was supporters of Clinton who got the ball rolling after she conceded to PBO in the primary. It was debunked then. Trump and some on the Right picked up the ball and made it the myth it turned into; a myth which Trump resurrected over the last week only to Flip-Flop and declare self-righteously that Obama was an American, something he has spent seven years trying to prove wasn't true.

9/16/16: At the same time Trump lied about HRC, he also lied claiming ""I finished" the controversy about where President Barack Obama was born.". Follow the link to find out why Trump never "finished" anything regarding his birther issue. The simple answer is, if you don't want to go look is that he Never Stopped Tweeting about it once PBO released his long form birth certificate.

9/14/16: On this day Trump lied when he said ""My opponent has no child care plan.". Visit here for information and a report on her plan. But here is a sneak peak. "“I [Hillary] don’t think any family should have to pay more than 10 percent of their income for child care. That ought to be just a rule and you ought to get help if you’re getting close to that or going above that.”

9/7/16: And then there is this variation on a well known lie, "I [Trump] was totally against the war in Iraq." See this to read his agreement with the war when he speaks to Howard Stern he says, when asked about his support of attacking Iraq, "“Yeah, I guess so. You know, I wish it was, I wish the first time it was done correctly.” Granted, he did change his mind later in 2003 when he said this, but the fact is ... He Did Say It.

9/1/16: Trump, on this date, repeated a well debunked statement that "The number of illegal immigrants "could be 3 million. It could be 30 million."; but he persists tuning it into a lie. The fact is Homeland Security, the Pew Research Center, the Center of Migration Studies, and the Center of Immigration Studies all found, in both 2012 and more recently that the estimated number of illegal immigrants to be between 11 and 12 million people. Clearly, Trumps 3 million or 30 million claim is not possible.

August 2016

8/29/16: Our well informed hero tweeted these words ""Inner-city crime is reaching record levels.". According to FBI statistics, violent crime in America dropped significantly since the passage of the 1994 and 1995 federal gun control laws 1. It flattened out during the George W. Bush administration and Republican controlled Congress and began declining again after PBO took office. Specifically, it declined 26% from 1996 - 2000, 9% from 2001 - 2008, and 15% for an overall decline since 1995 of 47% 2.

There is no official statistic called "inner-city crime", so as a surrogate, Politifact used cities over 250,000 souls. The declines are much more dramatic and measure 30%, 19%, and 9%, respectively.

If you consider Murders and Non-negligent Homicides only then you wind up with for the country declines of 33%, 2%, and 10%, respectively. While for cities with over 250,000 population death from these reasons declined 37%, 15%, and 9%, respectively.

SO, no matter which way you cut it, Trumps tweet was a pants-on-fire lie ... agreed?

8/5/16: Another Pants-on-Fire false statement by Trump is that"Hillary Clinton says she wants to, ‘raise taxes on the middle class.’ "This, of course is another Trump lie. Trump pulled a Joseph Goebbles gambit. He sent out an email with an ewe are going to raise taxes on the middle class."embedded video that "clearly" shows Clinton saying "we are going to raise taxes on the middle class." But here is the problem ... she actually didn't say that. Instead, transcripts show she actually said (and I do remember hearing her say this) "we aren't going to raise taxes on the middle class." What a difference a "n't" makes, doesn't it?

8/2/16: On this date, in an interview, Trump made this astounding claim: "I’m beating (Kelly Ayotte) in the polls by a lot."(because she wouldn't endorse him of fear of losing her election). Is this true? Not even close. Around August 2, Clinton led Trump by 3 points while Hassan and Alyote were tied, so Trump is clearly wrong there. Two days later new polls showed Hillary 15 points ahead and Hassan 10 points ahead. This was rated a pant-on-fire Trump lie.

8/1/16: At a rally on this date Donald Trump told the world, America, and his crowd that

This, of course is another pants-on-fire lie which also damages America in the eyes of the rest of world as well as feeding into the urban myths held by his "basket of deplorables" who back his campaign with violence and vitriol. You should enjoy reading how Politifact destroys this attempt at disinformation to excuse his lose to Hillary Clinton.

July 2016

7/29/16: Donald Trump not only denigrates other politicians, he goes after first responders as well. At a rally in Colorado Trump said:

This was just his latest criticism of fire marshals over crowd restrictions, he has done it many times and lied about it each time as you will find out reading the facts in the link provided. The short story is:

Trump campaign signed a contract to abide by the fire marshal's crowd restrictions at each rally

The Colorado Fire Marshal said, based on the rule of 5 sq ft person in standing room only crowds and guidelines about the number of exits, he calculated capacity to be 1,500 in the main venue and 1,000 people in an off-site venue.

Trump asked if they could make it larger and the Fire Marshall (who Trump insulted by calling him a Democrat; he isn't) agreed to a 10% increase.

This did not satisfy Trump, and as he as done at other rallies, lashed out by saying

"This is why our country doesn't work," Trump said. "We have thousands [actually 1,100] of people in (an overflow) room next door. We have plenty of space here [he had no space]. We have thousands of people outside trying to get in. And we have a fire marshal that said, 'Oh we can't allow more people.' ..."

So consequently, I agree with Politifact that Trump was pants-on-fire lying on every count.

7/29/16: Trump tweeted one of his insults to American democratic institutions by stating:

An easy pants-on-fire lie. Neither Clinton nor the Democratic Party have any involvement in the setting of the debate schedule. Only the Commission on Presidential Debates does, a bipartisan, independent organization.

Of course this is another pants-on-fire lie. Her book was published in 2014 a year before President Obama negotiated the TPP. In the book, Clinton supports TPP in several ways on pages 78 and 79 of the hard cover edition. On pages 69 and 70, you will find the "exact same words". Clinton changed nothing - Trump lied.

Sputter, sputter, how can that unpatriotic, absurdity come out of the mouth of any American, let alone one running for President. The above quote is linked to the source which gives an interesting rebuttal. But I will add other information. The surge at the end of President Bush's term effectively dismantled Al Qaeda in Iraq. But the state he left Iraq's government in with no ability for the U.S. to keep troops on the ground unless President Obama could negotiate a new Status of Forces agreement. He didn't because Iraq would not agree with a central Obama demand .... that American troops would not be subject to Iraqi law. Therefor our troops had to leave even though President Obama wanted to leave about 10,000 behind.

That created the vacuum Desch (ISIS) grew in from the remnants of Al Qaeda. President Obama was also responsible for restarting the dormant (while he was fighting in Iraq) war on terrorism and Al Qaeda which has resulted in the beheading of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. What makes Trump's claim so false is that he knows this history but rejects it for political purposes.

Hillary Does Much Better in the Truth Department

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What Do The Numbers Show?

FACT CHECKING ORGANIZATIONS e.g. Politifact or FactCheck.org have found that between 70% to 90% of the statements made by Donald Trump are False, Mostly False, or True, But Misleading. According to a June Truth-O-Meter rating, out of 158 Trump facts checked, he was Pants-on-Fire False or False 68% of the time; add in Mostly False and it raises to and amazing 78% and only 3% were rated True. Comparable numbers for Clinton are 27% Pants-on-FireFalse, 13% False, and 13%.True for 120 statements checked. How do Trump supporters work around this terrible picture of a lack of veracity.

Even if you suspect Donald Trump has mostly lied during the campaign; will you still vote for him?

Comments

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LorLinda 4 months agofrom Denver Colorado

I agree with Rock Artist on this go Trump!

Author

My Esoteric 9 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Actually, Berniefan, it appear you didn't read the story carefully enough. The truth that is known by the public right now is that FBI discovered emails on Wiener's server that May have gone through HRC's email server. They Did Not come from HRC herself, however. That implies they came from Wiener's wife.

And that is all we know right now.

Your Pay-to-Play is non-existent. It is common in politics, and I am sure Bernie does this also, when people know other people in high places they ask for access that regular people don't have. This is a Fact of Live and has been true of almost every politician since 1794. Clinton, either one, is no different. The fact is that some who approached Clinton's staff were ignored, some others were not; that is the way it works. I was in DoD for 20+ years and I saw this every where. I call it a straw man because it is.

There are millions of people who will disagree with you about Bill Clinton. Those who know rate him as one of the most effective political speakers in modern times. He is not as good as Mr. or Mrs Obama, but he is better than almost anyone else.

Berniefan 9 months ago

So the FBI is now investigating Clinton emails due to the Anthony Weiner investigation. So is Weiner showing is...er...weiner a right wing conspiracy too? I say where there is smoke their is fire. I also wouldn't call play to play a strawman. Bill Clinton is not that interesting of a speaker anyway

Author

My Esoteric 9 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Yes, there is a limit to everything. For example, Earth will disappear in 5 billion years. Why can't the limit be 100, 200, 500 years? In practical terms, that is unlimited.

As to climate change, that is a very valid point if politicians allow it to happen.

Berniefan, you are absolutely right. But, Donald Trump is an extremely dangerous man who may have all ready caused long-term harm to our country. It is my duty as an American to debunk Trump's lies in order to prevent further harm.

Clinton does not have the same baggage, save for the server debacle. Benghazi is a dead, phony issue. The Clinton Foundation is a strawman. And that is about it.

Berniefan 9 months ago

I don't see too many articles touting either candidate on HP. Mainly it is anti-candidate Hubs such as this. I guess negative sells. As for what is putting Americans out of work; you are partially right about technology being the culprit. The Global Economy, aided by technology is the reason and we have to adjust to it instead of fight it. Instead of manufacturing going to rural Ohio, it now goes to Malaysia.

Austinstar 9 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

"Why should there be a top to GDP?"

There is a limit to everything under the sun. Why should there be a limit to our population? Well, because each and every one of us uses a huge amount of resources. Yes, the USA has a lot of resources and they may last for the foreseeable future, but eventually, they WILL reach their limit.

The GDP is restricted, as you said, by population and technology. It is also restricted by resources. If you do the math, the population of the earth will be unsustainable in the not too distant future because of 'exponential' growth, not simple mathematics growth. We are rapidly approaching a tipping point. The same is true for climate change. Humans have dumped way too much CO2 into the atmosphere in way too short of a time frame. The earth is currently running at a net loss of oxygen. It gets worse and is very bad news for humans.

What we do now affects generations to come. The GDP won't mean squat if there is no way to sustain this planet.

I'm glad that Obama is going to champion climate change issues. I'm glad that Hillary is going to spearhead real revisions to health care, child care, human resources. These two are paying attention to the true issues that affect the planet.

Trump is only concerned with his "bottom line" which is gold and money. (and perhaps his little hands).

Author

My Esoteric 9 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Why should there be a top to GDP? Running out of room in America is not an issue for centuries to come. You are certainly correct about the need of citizens to adjust, through education, to the increasing use of technology. That said, throughout our history businesses and people have stuck to the same, false story, that increasing technology will put all Americans out of work. That has never happened in the past, writ large, and it is not going to happen in the future. Instead the people trained in new jobs are, save for the service industry, higher paying jobs than the ones they gave up because of the additional education it takes.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Berniefan. I for one am a Clinton supporter, so I am not voting against anyone. While there is a lot about Bernie to like, he 1) just goes too far Left in his many of his positions, 2) has extreme positions that, if made law, would be counterproductive to economic growth, and 3) he would have no luck getting much of his program passed given the likely make-up of the next Congress.

There are many Rs who are voting FOR her, rather than not voting at all or for a third party candidate or write-in. That says a lot that they are voting for HRC because they really think she can do the job better than the who the Rs chose to represent them.

Berniefan 9 months ago

This is the first election decided by who is not the worst instead of who is the best. When you ask people why they are voting for their candidate, the answer is usually because they don't like the other person. Go figure! lmao

Austinstar 9 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

Well, when a country gets to the point of needing overpopulation to sustain its GDP, I think that that country needs to re-examine the needs of the citizens instead of focus on the GDP.

A growing GDP may be good for making rich people richer and providing job growth, but it is an unsustainable cycle. You can only fill a bucket up to the top before it overflows. There has to be a maximum GDP limit somewhere.

At the rate that technology is advancing, it is just going to put more and more people out of work - UNLESS they train for the jobs of the future! Coal mining is OUT, solar and wind power are IN. People need to learn to adjust! They are screaming for "change", but they really don't understand that it is THEY who must "change"!

Robotics will take over many jobs, so why aren't people going to school to learn to develop and maintain robotics?

Why aren't they screaming for better, cleaner energy jobs? Instead they want to die in the coal mines - because that's the way we have always done it.

It's a strange world we live in.

Author

My Esoteric 9 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Thanks Austinstar, sorry for the belated reply, I didn't see your comment.

In my studies of economics I have learned that long-term economic growth (an average of about 2.5% since WW II) depends on two things: continued growth of the 1) population and 2) technology. Unless the sum of the two is positive at about the 3-4% rate (meaning one could be negative and the other very positive) the economy WILL shrink. Right now the American birth rate is about an anemic 1.5 -2%, not enough to sustain growth in GDP.

Reversing the flow of legal immigrants and shipping 11 million illegals out of the country will only lead to negative GDP growth later,

Could you please explain to me why anyone in their right mind would think that Trump is a better choice than Hillary? I absolutely cannot figure it out.

The only thing I can sort of agree with Trump on is the immigration thing. But not for the reasons that he puts forth. I simply think immigration has gotten to the point that it is doing more harm than good. We're full, we don't need more workers, we need to find a way to instill the work ethic in the people that are already here.

Trump wants to end immigration because he is afraid of terrorism. We have more reason to be afraid of our own home grown terrorists, and crime on our streets by and to ourselves, than we do of refugees. The only solution for ending terrorism is to change the world ideology. That's not going to happen for centuries. In point of fact, WE are the world's terrorists! We are dropping bombs and missiles on other countries that we have no business in. The politicians are making money off of terrorism, they don't want it to stop. They can't sell their big 'defense' toys when the world is at peace!

We really need to vote smarter. We need to work together! Trump is a divider and Hillary is a cheerleader for getting people to work together.

The choice is clear. Hillary and the Democrats are FAR more progressive and unified than the Republicans ever will be again. They really need to figure Trump out. He's a cheater, a liar, a con man, a b.s. artist, and he is definitely temperamentally unfit to be POTUS.

Author

My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

At least Bill liked women when he pulled his out doing his part to a presidential tradition alive, lol.

Thanks for your insightful thoughts MizB.

My feeling is this. Does Hillary lie on occasion? Yes, like most politicians and, if fact, most humans. Does Hillary use bad judgement?Yes, like most politicians and, if fact, most humans. Does Hillary dodge questions? Yes, like most politicians. Is Hillary a bit paranoid of the press? Yes, like most politicians and with good reason.

Does Hillary have more experience in government and governance? Yes, more than almost anybody else in government. Does Hillary have answers to pressing issues of the day? Yes, and, in my opinion, mostly the right answers. Does Hillary know how to compromise and get things through Congress? Yes, so long as she learned from her failures as First Lady. Does Hillary have the People at heart? Yes, her whole history since college proves it.

If I put Trump instead of Hillary, the answers would be as follows:

- Lying, Yes, he rarely knows how not too.

- Bad Judgement, Yes, in politics, most of the time; in business, a lot.

- Dodging, Yes, most of the time

- Paranoid, Yes, a lot and not just with the press

- Governing experience, No

- Answers, Yes, but very few and almost all are wrong in my opinion

- Compromise, No

- People, No, his life's history proves it.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

MizB, the choice is quite clear to me. I would much rather vote for Hillary over an oversized orange turd of a man who can't keep it in his pants, hates women, cheats everyone in business, lies to everyone, and has the educational equivalent of a wall street shyster.

MizBejabbers 11 months ago

I know this hub is about lying candidates, but let's look at the facts before we try to determine who would be the biggest liar:

Hillary is an educated woman and a lawyer. In addition to being a First Lady who has experienced the White House first hand, she is a former U.S. senator and Secretary of State. She knows first hand how U.S. law, the U.S. Constitution, and international law work, and I think that's what scares Trump supporters. They see it as "being part of the establishment." As someone has pointed out, the majority are under-educated or uneducated people who cling to bigotry, misogyny and Islamophobia and they absolutely refuse to allow themselves to be confused by facts.

On the other hand, Trump has a bachelors from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. He claims to have graduated with honors, but there is no record of honors, and few former students remember him. The latter I don't find surprising because it is difficult for people our age to remember the names of fellow students other than those with whom they were close friends. Trump has a record of four bankruptcies, which should cause the intelligent person to wonder how he is going to create the jobs and make American "great again" when he can't control his own finances. He claims he is going to build a wall to keep Mexican illegals out and that Mexico is going to pay for it. He is lauded for visiting with the President of Mexico, but El Presidente did not agree to pay for his wall. What did that accomplish and why is Hillary being criticized by Trump supporters because she didn't go down and make a fool of herself like Trump did?

Hillary is criticized about the Clinton Foundation, which has been documented as doing more good for third world countries than any other organization, but the foundation has been known to accept donations from questionable middle Eastern sources. Trump's real estate and business ties are everything but charitable and some of them could put our national security in jeopardy. Do you really want more Chinese factories built in this country, or do you even care as long as they provide you with a job? Trump has bragged about his ties to Putin, and Putin is known to be part of the Russian mafia. Would this affect this country if he were president?

So which candidate would have the most reason to lie, an educated woman with both government and international experience or an "under-educated " capitalist with questionable international experience and a proven track record of making money at the expense of others ?

Author

My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Actually he has, and so has Obama; they still are as a matter of fact; but many of these people fall on the extreme Left, and common sense often is not there forte ... the same is true of the extreme Right. Trump, on the other hand, is just dangerously extreme.

Jean Bakula 11 months agofrom New Jersey

Agreed. That's what makes him so scary. His followers don't realize what he's doing, just as young people are easy to win over, thinking they are doing the Patriotic thing.

I wish Sanders would come out and speak to his followers. He doesn't have to endorse Hillary, he obviously is still in pain about the outcome. But he can join the "Never Trump" movement or explain to them that a vote for Johnson or Stein is a vote for Trump.

Author

My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

We did Austinstar, we invaded Afghanistan, as well we should have. But then Bush divided his forces and let Afghanistan flounder and our war terror along with it thereby letting that war drag on 10 years longer than it should have. People believed in Bush's lies because that was the patriotic thing to do.

Absolutely true about Trump, Jean. It occurs to me Hitler was another person who didn't take insults well, either. They have so much in common it temperament, psychosis, narcissism and the list goes on.

Jean Bakula 11 months agofrom New Jersey

I agree with Austinstar, the country was so upset by 9/11 and the fact we had to fight an enemy on the move all the time, we were going to end up invading somewhere. When I call Hillary a hawk, I think she would be sensible and only use force if diplomacy wouldn't work.

Bush just listened to his advisers and did whatever they said. If 9/11 didn't happen, his Presidency may have been totally different. But Trump scares me. He can't even take a slight insult from anyone. Is he going to nuke everybody who annoys him? Kelly-Anne has him a little more under control. But I don't think he can keep it up long.

And it's true Obama has a fondness for drones. Hillary has worked with R's in the past, and has built up relationships with people all over the world. Trump makes real estate deals all over the world, but that's not the same thing. He's a dangerous man.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

Esoteric, as the invasion of Iraq fell on the backlash of the 9/11 incident, the country was ready to invade someone. The sentiment was definitely for war with whoever seemed responsible. Unfortunately, too many people jumped to the wrong conclusions.

What is scary now is that most of us can see what a failure Trump would be, but we can't seem to convince his star struck fans.

Author

My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Great, fact-based comments, Jean and Austinstar. I agree with Austinstar that "Hawk" doesn't mean a preference for conflict, but a willingness to use it when the situation calls for it, rather than take the Chamberlain approach. Obama is no dove either, given his strategic and effective use of drones and Special Operation forces.

I am retired military and it was clear to me many months before Bush pulled the trigger in Iraq that actually invading Iraq would be a grave mistake; he should have simply kept up his build up and sanctions, they would have worked. There are three reasons I was opposed to the war from the get-go. 1) Given the job I had as a civilian in OSD I knew that America was not prepared to fight two limited wars even though that is what our national security policy called for; something that Clinton might not have known but Rumsfeld was absolutely aware of which led to one of the biggest no-nos in military strategy ... splitting your forces, 2) if one had simply read the history of the Middle East, it would have been clear that a voluntarily invasion was bound to fail in the long-run; another thing Clinton, not being a student of history, might not have appreciated, and 3) the most important, open source information was chock full of doubt about the veracity of the claims Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld made about why an invasion was necessary; something Clinton SHOULD have known about.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

Jean, the voice of reason. The only thing I disagree with is that everyone thinks Hillary is "hawkish". I think she responds to strength with strength, but she probably would not have agreed to the war in Iraq if she had had all the facts. Hindsight has 20/20 vision, but I think the USA rushed into Iraq, and even Trump was for it. (The I guess so comment). But today Trump is far more Hawkish than Hillary. He is more in agreement with Ted Cruz and indicates that nukes might be the answer to ISIS. A scary thought.

Jean Bakula 11 months agofrom New Jersey

It's been said, but if she committed all these crimes, why isn't she in prison? Because people listen to right wing talk shows, mostly elderly people, and believe what they hear. Or don't have the computer skills to look at websites and know which are reliable and which use photo shop to illustrate whatever their obnoxious point is.

I live in NJ and see how Trump destroyed the South Jersey Shore with all his casinos that went bankrupt. Maybe since he's so rich (debatable without seeing his tax returns) he should re-outfit the casinos and make them into housing for Veterans. He cheated them of the money he promised them after the benefit he held for them.

I'm not thrilled with either candidate either, but believe that most of the "crimes" about Hillary are lies. She wouldn't be walking free. The FBI said she deleted 8 out of the 300,000 emails, not what Trump is lying about. Colin Powell handled it the same way. Why don't we have a Tech department in our Cabinet and establish clear rules about communicating by emails and such?

Trump

has no foreign policy experience and already publicly talked about some of what he learned. He's like a little boy playing "King of the Hill." He has no idea how hard the work is to be POTUS, and has suggested "good and bad people will be in his cabinet." And Hillary is a Hawk, but at least she has self control. I'm afraid for the first time in my life he's so irrational he will nuke somebody over a little slight. He has very thin skin.

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My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Austinstar. You might find these two hubs helpful in explain Trump followers

Rock Artist, why is it only the extreme Right that thinks the other 80% "... are all ignorant of her crimes." Could it be because she hasn't committed any?

As to sociopaths, they have rather distinctive characteristics. Almost all people exhibit a few of those behaviors that describe sociopathy and Clinton falls in that group. Trump, however, exhibits to any objective observer many. See https://hubpages.com/politics/American-Politics-Do... for details.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

If only it were that easy, Esoteric. The trumpsters are under some kind of spell. We can point out how deplorable the Trumps are and it makes absolutely no difference. They will not believe anything good about Hillary or anything bad about Trump.

And Trump is a narcissistic sociopathic psychopathic liar. He lies to screw his "friends and enemies". He is playing on the undereducated, racist, bigoted, angry people in our country. And you guys are suckers of the highest order.

Did you invest with Bernie Madoff too? You should spend all your money on Trump University, maybe you will learn how to con the American people as well as he is doing.

Rock Artist 11 months ago

You are all ignorant of her crimes. She is pure evil. She is a sociopathic liar (meaning she lies for her own personal gains).

Sociopaths can be so good at lying that they are able to pass lie detector tests. This means they often escape jail or don’t even get prosecuted for the crimes they permit. (That’s not to say all sociopathic liars are criminals, of course).

It seems she has lost a great deal of credibility with Americans based on her demolishing her cellphones and using bleach to hide her corruption. She's a good liar, but a liar nonetheless.

Jean Bakula 11 months agofrom New Jersey

I think people should stop blaming her for Bill's cheating. They obviously have an Open Marriage or something of the like. They like being a political power couple. But even yesterday he was asked about her health, and said, "I spoke with her earlier today, and she sounded fine, is studying up for the debates." They only appear to live in the NY house together for photo ops.

She's been criticized for calling women who cheated with Bill names and being angry. Who wouldn't in that situation? That doesn't take away all the work she has done for Women's and especially Children's issues for her whole career. The country can't be run on who was "allowed" to enter the White House if it's a woman he slept with. That's on him.

I never heard about a Trump rape charge either. Where can I read about that? Ivana said he often raped her when they were married, but Evangelicals don't believe a husband can rape a wife, I guess they think it's the woman's duty to endure whatever a sick man wants to do to her.

That's another point that bothers me. This is a secular country. When the Republicans kept going farther and farther right, and let religious nuts take over the party, they made a mess. The social issues are not as important, and so we get elections where out attention should be elsewhere, not worrying about whose going to what bathroom.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

Bill Clinton is not running for president. And Trump has admitted screwing around on his 'wives' too. What is your I.Q. score?

Hillary:

Fought for children and families for 40 years and counting.

Helped provide millions of children with health care.

Helped get 9/11 first responders the health care they needed.

Stood up for LGBT rights at home and abroad.

Helped expand health care and family leave for military families.

Negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Rock Artist 11 months ago

Okay, and it's really standing up for women to allow your "husband" to &*@# other women in the oval office when he was in charge and still be doing it today. He is a sexual predator and this is well known and has been proven. She's a real hero for women's rights, for sure! I hadn't heard anything about Trump raping anyone, but I will look into it just because I like to educate myself. Just googled it, not proven in court, so I guess it's not true according to you. I think this would be a great time for us to turn this around and try to be more positive. Let's start with you coming up with something good Hillary has done - in the past 35 years of her career - for The United States of America. I would like a list, but I'll take one.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

And the fact that Trump is accused of R A P I N G a 13 year old girl, and will actually go to trial for this doesn't affect you at all?

You're right, accusations mean far more than actual proof, right?

So, you should just accept the proof that Trump is out for your best interests and vote for him. Obviously, you are deplorable, so, it makes lerfect sense.

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My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

HRC defined "deplorable" as those who are "Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic ..." If you are not one of those (and Trump is), then you are NOT in the Basket of Deplorables.

Tell me, why does Trump associate with mobsters (proved)? Why does Trump embrace our enemy Putin (proved)? Why does nobody no what Trumps platform is from day-to-day (saved for his unaccomplishable desire to "build a beautiful wall") given he changes parts of it that often (proved)? Why does Trump not listen to his expensive advisers while claiming he will once elected (proved)? (Granted he has turned half an ear to his latest campaign chairwoman and is somewhat following her advise ... leading to his current, but temporary, rise in the polls.)

Why do you want to vote for a pig-in-a-poke who knows nothing about policy formation nor cares to learn about it (proved)?

Rock Artist 11 months ago

Thanks for calling everyone voting for Donald Trump a 'nutjob'. I will gladly wear that badge of honor along with being called 'deplorable' by Hillary Clinton. She's has shown us to be not only a model citizen but a terrific human being that truly cares about all of us.

The meaning of "Deplorable": Causing or being a subject for censure, reproach, or disapproval, wretched, very bad. Thank you, Hillary. I think she was doped up on medication when she said this, so you have to at least allow for her not being in her right mind when it happened.

Yes, I guess that's me!!! Thank you! D-E-P-L-O-R-A-B-L-E.

It's not up to me to prove or disprove anything Hillary Clinton has done. The reason she has not been convicted of any crimes 'yet' is because she's really well rehearsed in covering her deeds and has had a lot of people covering for her, which is clear by how the members of her staff that have been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice are pleading the Fifth Amendment in an effort to hide information that would totally incriminate her. When was the last time you smashed your 14 cellphones with a hammer??? Hillary Clinton's staff is in a @*&@load of trouble, you can see it all over their faces, they are a running scared.

It's gonna hit the fan, watch and see, have a great day!

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My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

And finally, I appreciate, Austinstar, you reading my hub and rebutting Rock Star.

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My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Thank you as well for reading (catching my misspelling) and commenting. It turns out "lier" is a word as well, just the wrong one.

The said that "but at least he didn't lie as an elected official or while holding a political position as important and powerful as the Secretary of State of the United States of America " The fallacy in that belief is that, given his track record to date, who is to say he won't were you to put him in such a high office?

In other places I have linked to articles that prove Hillary didn't "then lie to the families of dead soldiers he could have saved to cover his self-serving political agenda. " That is an urban myth put out by the Right-Wing propaganda machine.

From what I have observed personally, and am amplifying on in this hub, is your statement that " Trump may have made a 'few' mistakes or remarks that weren't considerate, ..." should be " Trump may have made 'many' mistakes or remarks that weren't considerate, ..."

When you say "He is a successful businessman who will surround himself with top-notch people who will also do the right things for America.", how does successful square with his filing strategic bankruptcies FOUR times destroying or at least hurting thousands of people unnecessarily?

The rest of your missive appears to be repeating the bullet points of the Right's Goebbels-like propaganda effort.

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My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Thank you for reading and commenting Jean. Your comment about very low education got me to thinking about why this is so. The conclusion I came up with is the level of education probably correlates nicely with an ability to critically analyze something, in this case things said by Trump and Clinton. I suspect there is a looser but still positive correlation between education level and bigotry, xenophobia, faithphobia, and the like. The reason I come to that conclusion is that the higher you get in education the more you are required to successfully analyze issues and understand nuance. The less capable you are at this function, the more likely you are to believe Trump and think that Clinton does nothing but lie.

Austinstar 11 months agofrom Somewhere in the universe

Funny thing, Rock Artist. All that stuff you believe about Hillary is a lie! You really think that she did everything she is accused of? Why hasn't she been convicted? Ask yourself that question. The answer is that she has been judged guilty by the Right Wing Nut Jobs without a shred of proof.

Come up with some actual proof, or quit believing all the lies.

Rock Artist 11 months ago

You spelled LIAR wrong above, it's a very important word describing Hillary Clinton's political career. Say what you will about Trump, but at least he didn't lie as an elected official or while holding a political position as important and powerful as the Secretary of State of the United States of America and then lie to the families of dead soldiers he could have saved to cover his self-serving political agenda. Hillary Clinton is corrupt. Plain and simple. Trump may have made a few mistakes or remarks that weren't considerate, I will give you that, he is not perfect. I'm not going to say he wouldn't make a 'mistake' as President, because everyone does and he's only human. HOWEVER, at least fundamentally he wants to put the interests of America and the citizens of this country, yes, THIS COUNTRY, first. I am done being quiet about the greedy, lying witch that wants to run America. She just wants even more money than she's already stolen through her disdainful money-laundering foundation that she runs with her deceitful, disgusting, womanizing husband. These two should not be allowed anywhere near the White House let alone run it!!! It is simply unbelievable to me that she hasn't been incarcerated for all the crimes she has already committed, just imagine what she would get away with if she actually got in. Very very scary to think about. The reason she has not been convicted is that all the people who know the truth about her are being paid off to lie for her, are in cahoots with her, or they are afraid of meeting an unfortunate and untimely death. You may have surmised by now that I am supporting Donald Trump. Is he perfect? No. Does he care about America? Yes. Does he want to do what's right? In my heart I believe that he does and will try to do the best he can for ALL Americans - no matter their race, religion or gender affiliation. He is a successful businessman who will surround himself with top-notch people who will also do the right things for America. We need a strong leader, man or woman, that knows how to get things done and achieve greatness and respect for America and that person is Mr. Donald Trump.

Jean Bakula 11 months agofrom New Jersey

Thanks for your fact based article. I know all politicians stretch the truth a bit. But Trump has lied so much, and I hate to say it, but many of his followers are people of very low education who are racists and bigots. I was recently shocked to hear a friend of mine muse about whether a woman should be President. I'm just afraid Trump has stirred up so many lies about Hillary, he could win. Republicans are more likely to vote than Democrats. I shudder to think of the damage he could do to the world.

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My Esoteric 11 months agofrom Keystone Heights, FL

Thank you, Larry.

How the extremists can say Clinton lies more, or even lies beyond the mostly true or true but misleading ratings is beyond me. Actually, it isn't because I understand the fundamentals of how high scoring Right-wing Authoritarian followers act as well as people like Trump and Cruz perform as very high scoring on the Social Dominator Orientation scale.

Larry Rankin 11 months agofrom Oklahoma

Nothing new for a politician to stretch the truth, but I don't know how this guy can look himself in the mirror in the morning.